Like someone else said, my head says the Saints but my heart says the Lions. I think if we can play like we did in the Chargers game, we can pull this one out. We need to match that level of intensity for a whole game. Heck if we play like we did for most of the first Saints game (minus the stupid meltdowns), we could win. If Delmas, Williams and Berry play that will be a huge boost. Not to mention we didn't have Suh or Houston in the first game and Fairley got hurt.

We will score enough to keep up with them, we just need to hold them on defense a few times.

January 4th, 2012, 4:01 pm

mactank

Baton Girl

Joined: December 20th, 2011, 3:56 pmPosts: 12

Re: Predictions: Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints. PLAYOF

It looks our "D" should have all starters going. Fairley practiced today, but with a noticeable limp, so he's day to day.

That being said, I too will drink the koolaid, 34-28 Lions!

January 4th, 2012, 4:13 pm

Killwill25

Rookie Player of the Year

Joined: March 5th, 2009, 8:42 pmPosts: 2358Location: Brooklyn, NY

Re: Predictions: Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints. PLAYOF

There has never been a better reason to drink the kool-aid. Kool-aid was invented for situations just like this

An NFL REF might see that and then throw 25 Defensive Holding Penalties on us. LOL.

January 4th, 2012, 10:44 pm

jedi~outcast

Varsity Benchwarmer

Joined: March 22nd, 2010, 11:44 pmPosts: 203

Re: Predictions: Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints. PLAYOF

shoot dang I'm excited!!! last time I watched a lions playoff game with my father was 20 years ago. Hopeing to have a similar result. Did I mention I was pumped?!?!?!?!?!

Lions 44AIENTS 17

_________________Formerly yzermanx3.

January 5th, 2012, 12:23 am

chilledmonkeybrains

Pop Warner Vet

Joined: March 11th, 2010, 4:39 pmPosts: 127

Re: Predictions: Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints. PLAYOF

I'm super pumped for this game. I say too close to call but I really do believe if we can play the Saints like we did in the first quarter of our last meeting we can take this! Not going to be too disappointed if we lose (unless it's like the last meeting!), but I was listening to Mike & Mike this morning and those guys are giving the Lions considerable chances to pull the upset. Just hearing that gives me goosebumps! We drive down the field with seconds remaining and a Hanson kick brings the Motor City back to football LIFE!31-28 Lions

_________________Slow is smooth, smooth is steady, steady is fast!

January 5th, 2012, 10:16 am

Ferris

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: April 19th, 2005, 2:10 pmPosts: 2478Location: Michigan

Re: Predictions: Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints. PLAYOF

I may be wrong, wouldn't be the first time, but I think you should all pull out your wallets for this game.

The NFL networks hype machine is in full swing, the ironic part is how blatantly bad the Detroit Lions team is perceived to be. They fail to mention anything positive about the Lions, with the exception of a slip here or there. Deception is a profitable thing.

How many people thought the Eagles "dream team" wasn't making it to the playoffs at the beginning of the season?

If you stop to think that "HALF" our losses came while Stafford was wearing a glove. Stafford's season doesn't need an asterisk next to it to be called great, however 41 TD's and 16 INT's could have been better. 10 of staffords INT's came while his index finger was injured.

I know Im a homer really, I know. I just expect the Lions, Stafford, and the defense to shock a few people on Saturday. I don't think in any way shape or form, the general NFL fan has any idea how good this team is.

Broncos superbowl odds right now are a 50 -1 and the Texans are 40 -1. Are either of these teams as good as the Lions who are also 40 - 1.

Just seems very odd that a 23 year old that is the 4th leading yards passer in NFL history with the reception leader for the season in Calvin Johnson get's absolutely no attention. I wouldn't cover your eyes when you watch these games. It's a business, and if they are in the business of making it look as though the Lions have zero chance to win then they are doing great. NFL network give's the Broncos more of a chance in the first round than the Lions. Crazy.

I think this will be a close, high scoreing game. Much like the Green Bay game. The Lions can win but they need to play smart & dicsiplined game and capitalized on the mistakes the Saints make. They turn the ball over a lot more than we do so we need to cash in on that.

The Saints are a pressure-based defense under coordinator Gregg Williams. Multiple fronts, blitz packages and combination coverages in the secondary that allows DBs to drive on the ball. Creative schemes that I have detailed before at the NFP.

However, Williams will also lean on Cover 2 (or Tampa 2) to play coverage, take away the vertical route tree and force the ball to go underneath vs. a top-tier No.1 receiver in the NFL. On Saturday, in the NFC Wild Card matchup vs. the Lions, that is exactly what Williams and the Saints will get with Calvin Johnson aligned outside of the numbers.

The key for the Lions: create a one-on-one situation with Johnson vs. the deep half safety in Cover 2 to stretch the top of the defense. Let’s go to the chalkboard to break it down.

Alignment: A 2x2 “Orange” (spread) look from the Lions with TE Brandon Pettigrew (Y) removed from the core of the formation as a slot receiver to the closed side. An ideal look to run the Flat-7 (corner) concept.

Flat-7 concept: The Saints know they are going to see this concept because of the amount of Cover 2 they have put on tape. The CBs need to sink at a 45-degree angle to cushion the safety on the 7 route and force the ball to go to the flat (Y,W) or the RB (R) on the check down. As a safety, read the release of No.1 (hard, inside stem), stay square in your pedal and drive downhill on the 7 route. A technique taught in every defensive secondary.

The double-move: I call this a “Shake 7” (stem to the 7, break back to the post). Johnson will get vertical after his initial release, work to the top of the route stem and run the double move vs. a safety (Saints’ Roman Harper) anticipating a cut to the corner route.

Defending the double-move: This is the same route concept Johnson ran vs. the Bears on Monday night earlier in the season for six points. I talked about “staying square” in your pedal as a deep half safety vs. Johnson, because once you open your hips to the 7 route it allows the WR to gain leverage and work back to the middle of the field. Trust your eyes, don’t guess and play with enough depth to take away the route. Every route breaks at a depth of 12-15 yards down the field...know what to expect

One-on-one matchup: This essentially turns into off-man coverage down the field. The Mike Backer in Cover 2 will run the inside vertical seam, but he isn’t going to provide any protection on the deep post vs. Johnson. This is on the safety to play the technique of the defense and limit the vertical game. A tough spot vs. the top offensive weapon in the NFL and QB Matthew Stafford.

Will we see this on Saturday night down in New Orleans? From my perspective, I would run this concept at least once per half to test the top of the defense and look to flip the field. If the Saints want to play Cover 2 outside of their pressure-package, then try to exploit it.

Follow me on Twitter: @MattBowen41

_________________Jim Caldwell, on whether Jim Harbaugh is stealing his thunder: "Me? I don't have any thunder."

Lions fans did a good job making Ford Field one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL this season. But even the Monday Night game against the Bears didn’t reach the volume level of the Superdome earlier this year when the Lions played there on Sunday night in December.

That place gets deafening.

The Saints have been unstoppable at home, setting an NFL record by scoring 339 points (42.4 per game) in their eight home victories.

A quick touchdown or early lead by the Lions could go a long way to quieting the Saints crowd and making the Superdome less of an advantage than it truly is.

Suh needs to have an impact

Suh missed the first meeting while serving the first game of a two-game suspension he received after kicking Packers center Evan Dietrich-Smith on Thanksgiving.

Rookie Nick Fairley stepped up in Suh’s place with a terrific first quarter (one sack and two tackles for loss) but when he left the game due to a foot injury, there was a big void in the middle for the Lions.

Defensive tackle Corey Williams has been great this season, but he’s better with a great player like Suh next to him.

It took Suh eight weeks to register his fourth and final sack of the regular season against the Packers last week and the match-up between him and Saints Pro Bowl right guard Jahri Evans should be one of the better match-ups of the game.

If Suh can have an impact on the stat book, and not just the game, the Lions’ chances of winning go up exponentially.

Manage the blitz

According to ESPN Stats and Information, no NFL quarterback has been blitzed less than Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford this season (23.7 percent). That probably a sign of respect for both him and all the weapons he has at his disposal.

But the Saints are the most frequently blitzing team in the NFL under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

The Lions did a pretty good job against the blitz last time around. Stafford was hit only four times in their last meeting and sacked three times. That’s not bad considering how often the Saints dial-up pressure.

The Packers blitzed Stafford 34.4 percent of the time he dropped back to pass Sunday, according to ESPN Stats and Info, and he was 9-of-21 passing for 154 yards and an interception. Against the regular pass rush, Stafford completed 27-of-38 passes for 366 yards, five touchdowns and one interception against the Packers.

Expect the Saints to bring pressure.

Take care of the football and keep penalties down

The Lions will have enough trouble stopping the Saints offense on Saturday. They can ill-afford to give them extra possessions, or worse, a defensive score.

The Lions are 11 in turnover ratio this season and Stafford has been pretty good all year at taking care of the football.

When the Saints last won a Super Bowl in 2009, they led the league in takeaways, but that hasn’t been the case this season.

The Saints defense had just 16 takeaways, the second-fewest in the NFL.

The Lions had 11 penalties for 107 yards in the first meeting, which included three 15-yard personal foul penalties and three offensive pass interference calls.

The penalties cost the Lions both yards and points.

The Lions have been penalized 128 times for 1,075 yards this season.

It’s easy; the Lions can't give the Saints any help with turnovers and penalties.

Find an answer to Saints TE Jimmy Graham

Graham (6-6, 260) is a mismatch for every defender he faces. But that was particularly true against the Lions.

Lions safety Amari Spievey and others had a hard time staying with Graham in their first meeting as he finished with eight receptions for 89 yards with six of those receptions good for a first down.

The Lions should have safety Louis Delmas back this week, which makes them a much better team in the back end of their defense. How much that has an effect on containing Graham and all of the other Saints’ receiving weapons is yet to be determined.

Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham will likely have a different game plan for stopping him this time around.

5 KEYS FOR THE SAINTS

Figure a way to slow down Lions QB Matthew Stafford

To say Stafford is on a roll is a bit of an understatement.

Stafford is coming off a 520-yard, five-touchdown performance against the Packers on Sunday and has thrown for 1,919 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions over his last five games, including the Week 13 loss to the Saints.

Stafford had 408 yards with a touchdown and an interception in their first meeting.

The Saints didn’t get home a lot on their blitzes against Stafford that much in the first meeting (three sacks) and he made them pay for bringing pressure on a number of occasions.

If Stafford has a similar performance Saturday, the Lions have a good chance at an upset.

Don’t let Calvin Johnson beat them

The Saints did a pretty good job on Johnson in the first meeting holding him to 69 yards on eight catches.

Those numbers would amount to a pretty good game for most receivers, but not for Johnson, not this season.

Johnson owns two of the top-three receiving performances this year when he had 244 yards and touchdown against the Packers and 214 yards and two touchdowns against the Raiders.

The scary part about that for the Saints is those two performances has come in the last three weeks.

The Saints rank 30th against the pass and both of their corners measure under six-feet tall.

Johnson has eight 100-yard performances this season. In those games, the Lions are 5-3.

Establish the run

The Lions will have the services of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh this time around, which makes the Lions better in every aspect of their pass and run defense.

That puts more pressure on the both aspects of the Saints' offense.

The Lions are great at generating pressure with their front four but they haven’t always been great this year at stopping the run.

Teams averaged 5.0 yards per rush on the Lions this season and have over 2,000 net rushing yards against them.

The Saints averaged 132.9 yards per game this season but were held to 100 total against the Lions in the first meeting.

The Saints still scored 31 points behind Brees’ 342 passing yards, but getting Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles going, along with the pass game, is a recipe for success for the Saints.

Don’t believe the press clippings

The Saints are undefeated at home.

The Saints are favored by 10.5 points.

The Saints have already beaten the Lions once this season.

No problem, right?

Wrong.

The Lions are getting healthy at the right time and should have their full compliment of players healthy and ready to play.

The Lions were without half their starting secondary (S Louis Delmas and C Chris Houston) the first time around as well as their best defensive lineman (Suh). Defensive Nick Fairley had a monster first quarter but left with an injury and was never the same.

Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham has been looking forward to this rematch and said after the loss to the Saints in early December that he couldn’t wait for another chance to play their best against his best.

The Saints are a better team, but don't go in thinking so.

Be better in the red zone

Opponents scored a touchdown 59 percent of the times they reached the red zone on the Saints defense this season.

The only team that was worse in the NFC was the Eagles.

The Saints face a Lions offense that was second in the NFC in red zone touchdown efficiency at 63.8 percent. The Lions scored a touchdown 37 of the 58 times they made it inside an opponents 20-yard line.

The Saints offense scored a touchdown 58.7 percent of the time and the Lions defense allowed a touchdown 49.1 percent of the time.

Which team scores touchdowns and which team is forced to settle for field goals might make all the difference.

I buy into all of this. The parts that scare me the most are:

1) Our ability to manage the blitz. We don't do that so well

2) Their ability to establish the run. They do that well yet Brees gets all the attention.

We've been much, much better at picking up the blitz in the past month. As well, in the past month, Stafford's been getting rid of the ball quicker and finding that open seam when faced with pressure.

I'm not terribly worried about the blitz.

What I am worried about is our front 5 being able to pick up that blitz so we can run with Titus in the slot while splitting Pett out wide. The front 5 along with a backer need to be able to defend the blitz in order for Stafford to be able to make his reads and find that open seam. They've been picking up the blitz well lately because they've been using the TEs as extra blockers and/or they've been decent at giving a nice bump on a blitzer prior to hitting their route.